- May 3, 2024
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As the Rev. Dennis Littleton, of First Baptist Church of Palm Coast, stood in the Antonia Fortress, in Jerusalem, with 26 other believers, he began to read from Psalms, from the Bible that was open at the site.
But he only got through two verses before he was so caught up with emotion that he had to stop.
“There was not a dry eye in the entire group,” he said.
The group of 15 from First Baptist Chruch of Palm Coast was joined by travelers from two other churches on a 10-day Biblical discovery to the Holy Land via Jordan, through Educational Opportunities Tours.
This was Littleton’s third trip to Israel, and he said it’s a different experience each time.
“It has a high educational value because it brings to life some of the things you read in the Bible. ... (It provides) the opportunity, as a believer, to go where the events happened.”
For Susan Raybine, one of the 15, it was about the spiritual connections.
One location that was particularly spiritual for her was the Sea of Galilee. As the group crossed the waters aboard a boat, the wind stopped, and the water calmed.
“In my whole long life I have never had such spiritual encounters — ever,” Raybine said.
But going on the pilgrimage to Israel, Littleton said, can sometimes be a leap of faith.
With the images of guns and bloodshed, Americans believes it’s such a war zone, he explained. But the entire time there, Littleton said, they never felt threatened.
“It was an exciting time, to know that our Lord was there,” he added.
Littleton plans to take a group back to Israel in 2013. “I believe every believer and nonbeliever would benefit,” he said.
